Sonia Rolland in an advertising campaign - Photo courtesy Karité

Sonia Rolland in an advertising campaign - Photo courtesy Karité

Real life or a fairytale? Sonia survived the atrocities in Rwanda and has achieved success with strength and energy. At the age of 13, she found asylum with her family in the small town of Cluny, in Burgundy, after abandoning the country where she was born following the conflict and genocide between Tutsis and Hutus (her mother is Tutsi, her father French). At the age of 18, the actress and model Sonia Rolland was the first ever woman with an African background to win Miss France. Today, she’s a mother with two beautiful baby girls – Tess, who she brought up single-handed – and little Kahina, who she had after meeting the actor and director Jalil Lespert at a photo shoot for an edition of Uomo Vogue focusing on Africa.

She has just brought out a book (published by Albin Michel) which tells the story of her life from Rwanda to the present day. In 2001, she started a foundation for children with her mother Laudrada. She has also just finished filming Désordres (“disorders”), a work by Étienne Faure starring Isaac de Bankole and Niels Schneider. In January, she starts shooting Pasquale Marrazzo’s new film, Salva l’Ultimo, in Italy.

“I come from a modest family, so when I arrived in France,” she says, “everything seemed really luxurious, really abundant to me.” She adds, “What changed my life, more than becoming an actress, was winning Miss France. I moved from a modest world to one that was really vain.” She’s had the good fortune though to have a family and friends who have always been by her side supporting her. “Sometimes it’s hard to break away from the ‘negative’ image that Miss France has for the French.

People judge you and if you represent a country, you have to play a part…” Her often difficult roles have taught her to open up her interior world: “I’ve had to learn to concentrate, to create an interior silence. The directors appreciate it, when you have to act.” She adds, “I like communicating emotion to the public. I used to dream of the world of cinema but in Africa these dreams are often so far from reality.” It’s beautiful to dream though, isn’t it?